


Back to Basics

by khughes830



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-06-14
Updated: 2005-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-30 09:36:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15094031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khughes830/pseuds/khughes830
Summary: Josh and Donna are now on the same team - now what?!?





	Back to Basics

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

 

**Back to Basics**

**by: Kathleen**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna  
**Pairing:** Josh/Donna  
**Category(s):** Romance, Post Season 6   
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** The characters aren't mine, but thank God to Aaron Sorkin for creating them. My life would not have been the same without them.   
**Summary:** : Josh and Donna are now on the same team - now what?!?   
**Series** : A New Day has Come #2  
**Spoiler:** _2162 Votes_ , but only if you haven't read **Changes in Attitude**  
**Author's Note:** OK, this is my first story that isn't based at the end of an episode. I am also including some anti-Will writing, as I've been told I may have been a little to nice to him in the last story. I don't think Will is as bad as others do, but hey, I've got to get rid of him somehow! That and I get to have some fun with the ever evil Amy, who I do think is worse than others make her out to be!! =) 

They walked down the hall together, his arm around her shoulders. They were almost to the Santos' suite when he spoke. 

"Did you notice Elsie back there?" 

She looked over her shoulder at where the group of campaign volunteers had been. 

"No, I didn't. Did she see us?" 

"Well, we were kind of hard to miss there, Donna, since we were the only people getting off the elevator!" 

"Yeah, stupid question." 

"Think she's gonna call Will." 

"Probably as soon as she has a chance." She sighed. "Guess I'll have to deal with him at some point today." 

"You want me to take care of it?" 

"And, what, watch the two of you get into a pissing match?!? No thanks, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." 

He stopped them from walking. "I'm glad you said that." 

"Said what?" 

"We. I'm glad that you said that 'we will cross that bridge when we get to it'. I meant what I said - this is us, you and me, working together again. It's back to basics for us - but this time, we're a team, equals. No matter what stupid stuff I may say or do from here on out, remember that I meant that and I mean it and it's the truth!" 

She smiled at him and nodded her head. He pulled her into him a little tighter and released her, much too quickly for her liking. 

He pointed at the door. "You ready for this Donnatella?" 

"Let's get to work. We've got to get a President elected!" 

He laughed and smiled at her as he knocked on the door. They were greeted by the smiling face of Helen Santos. She let out a whoop and threw her arms around Josh's neck. He jerked his arm off of Donna's shoulders and she kind of tripped backwards. Helen hadn't even noticed her yet. 

"Josh Lyman, it's about damn time! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I know I gave you a lot of grief over the last few months, but you knew what you were doing, and well, just LOOK what you did!!! Holy crap!!!!" 

He laughed a little. "Well, you're welcome Mrs. Santos. But, we've still got some work to do!" 

She pulled away from him and noticed Donna for the first time. 

"Josh, who's the pretty blonde standing… oh hell." Helen started to laugh. 

Josh looked at Donna, who seemed to be dumbstruck, and then back at the hysterical Helen Santos. "Ma'am?" 

"Sorry!" Helen Santos stretched out her hand to Donna. "You must be Donna Moss." 

Donna stepped forward to shake her hand. "Yes Ma'ma, I'm Donna Moss, but how…" 

Helen shook her hand and then leaned back to yell into the room. "Damn it Matt, I do believe we owe Leo $50!" Josh and Donna looked thoroughly confused at that statement. Helen just shook her head at them. "Well, come on in, you two. We've got enough food to feed an army!" 

Josh and Donna walked into the room as Matt Santos came out of the bedroom. Leo was sitting at the dining table reading the paper and drinking coffee. He didn't even look up as they came in the room. 

Matt walked up to Josh and shook his hand vigorously. "Josh Lyman, man, well, I don't know what to say. Thanks I guess to start with! But not too much thanks - we did just lose $50 thanks to you!" Helen snickered at that statement and Leo, still no reaction from him. 

"OK, sir, well, to start with, you are welcome. It was my pleasure. Now what is this about $50??" 

Without missing a beat, Leo turned the page of the paper and said "I told you two not to bet against me. I tried to warn you and give you plenty of chances to back out!" 

Once again, Josh and Donna looked at each other, perplexed. Josh responded first. "Ok, seriously, someone needs to start explaining!" 

Leo just read his paper while rehashing the events. "Well, apparently, after we got off the phone with you, Helen and Matt both had questions about who Donna was and why I was inquiring about her. I gave them a very brief overview of history of Josh and Donna and told them they would get to meet her today cause she would be showing up with you. They didn't believe me - in fact, I do believe Matt's actual response was 'Why would Lyman be bringing the chicken fighter to our meeting?' So, I bet them $50 that Donna would be with you today cause well, 1, she's better at your job than you are and you would want her on the campaign and 2, that you two had finally pulled your heads out of your respective asses. Turns out I was right." Finally, Leo looked up from the paper and over his glasses at Josh and Donna. 

The scene made him laugh. Josh looked like a fish out of water with his mouth hanging open and Donna had covered her reddening face with her hands as she leaned up against the wall. 

Finally, Josh stuttered, "So you, what, bet on me and Donna? LEO!!" 

"What?!? I tried to talk them out of it. Hell, I KNEW it was going to be a quick $50 but they wouldn't have any of it. Apparently, you are known as some sort of sour puss with the Santos staff." 

"SOUR PUSS!!" Josh looked over at the Santos'. Helen giggled while Matt just shrugged his shoulders. "And just so you know, she's not better at my job than I am." 

"Like hell I'm not" Donna responded from the wall she was trying to sink into. 

"Shush!" 

"Don't shush me Joshua!" 

Leo finally got up from the table and made his way toward Josh. "Ok you two - do we have to do this already. Seriously, you will scare the Santos' off if you two keep it up!" 

Donna finally pushed herself off the wall. "I just can't believe you had money on us, Leo." 

"Well, don't get me wrong, that was a nice bet, but the real money is coming from the White House. I was the only one who bet that you two could keep your hands off each other until you no longer worked for the President!" 

"WHAT!?!" Now it was Donna's turn to screech! "What in God's name to do you mean 'from the White House'?" 

Leo snickered. "Oh come on Donna - Margaret has a big mouth. Don't try to convince me that you didn't know?" By the horrified look on her face, Leo immediately started to regret those words. "Wait, you mean you didn't…" Leo started to laugh! 

"LEO!! Oh my god, I can't believe… that you all thought that I would… with my boss… that I would do anything to disrespect the President… after all the shit that happened… where the hell is a hole in the floor when you need it" Donna pleaded as she stared at the floor. "I'm mortified." 

Leo walked over and placed a hand on Donna's shoulder. "Donna, really, don't worry about it. No one thinks anything bad about you at all - and it's not like it was a building wide bet or anything. Just a few select members of senior staff and the first family…" 

"Oh my god, seriously, I need a hole right now!" 

"I mean, we all knew you two wouldn't do anything stupid, ok well, at least that you wouldn't do anything stupid…" 

"Hey!! I'm in the room Leo!!" 

Leo waved him off and kept talking to Donna. "We just knew that you two were different, had a different relationship, and that you two were not a question of 'if' but 'when'. Besides, you are a considerable step up for him. Don't worry yourself about anything!" 

"Seriously, I'M STILL IN THE ROOM!!" 

Donna looked up and smiled at Leo. "So, how much was your take?" 

Josh looked horrified. "DONNATELLA MOSS!! I CANNOT believe you are encouraging him!" 

Leo snickered. "About $600." 

Josh couldn't believe what he was hearing. "WHAT!?! You won HOW much money betting on my love life?!?" 

Donna looked away from Leo and to Josh. "Josh, you need to calm down." 

"But Donna, they were…" 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but who cares? Seriously Joshua, does that really, I mean really, matter to you right now?" 

He couldn't help but be swept away by her blue eyes and relatively calm demeanor. He got lost in her eyes and just stared as she made her way over to him and placed one hand on each side of his face. 

"Really, Josh, does any of that matter right now?" 

He just smiled at her. "Not at all. Sorry I got a little loud there." 

"Yeah, well, it's you, so I'm used to the bellowing." 

They stood there, completely lost in each other, forgetting that there were three other people in the room until Matt Santos cleared his throat. 

"Well, now that we had a little fun with Lyman and his chicken fighter, maybe we can eat and get down to what we need to do today!" 

Josh just looked up at Matt, Helen, and Leo and smiled. He wrapped an arm around Donna. "Absolutely! We've got work to do!" 

* * *

The five of them gathered around the food and piled their plates high and made their way over to the table. Donna put her plate down and made her way back over to the coffee tray. Josh noticed and without thinking, started in. 

"Hey Donna, while you're at it…" 

She whipped around and looked at him. "What?" 

"Can I get a cup while you're at it?" 

She snorted. "You CAN'T be serious?!?" 

"Donna, seriously…" 

"Joshua Lyman!" She screeched as she crossed her arms in protest. 

"Oh lord, here we go." Leo muttered under his breath. The Santos' looked at him with a look of confusion. "What's so wrong with coffee?" Helen whispered back. 

"I'm not sure - it's their thing!" 

"Donna, really, can I please just get a cup of coffee? You are already over there and you have two hands…" 

"Joshua Lyman, in all the years, and I mean all the years, we have known each other, how many times have I brought you coffee?" 

"Once, when you thought I was being fired after the whole Mary Marsh thing." 

Leo snickered. He had forgotten all about that. He started laughing harder as he muttered "indicted for tax evasion" to himself. At this point, the Santos' were completely lost. Matt just looked at Helen and shrugged his shoulders. 

"Yeah, really, Josh, and is one of us being fired?" 

"Donnatella, you are fired" he responded smirking. He knew exactly what her response would be. 

"First of all, I don't work for you anymore. Secondly" she responded as she pointed to herself "impervious!" 

"Ok you two, seriously, I think you have really started to scare Matt and Helen" Leo chimed in as he wiped his eyes. "Josh, just go get your own damn coffee and let's eat in peace. Who knows when we will get to do this again!" 

Josh started to whine. "But Leo, she's already over there. It would just be easier…" 

"Josh, just go." 

He, grudgingly, got up out of his chair and made his way over to the coffee cart and a victorious Donna Moss. He couldn't help but smile at her. "Pretty proud of yourself, Donnatella, getting Leo on your side and everything." 

"Joshua, its common knowledge that they all like me better." 

"It's true." Leo chimed from the table. 

"Good to feel loved!" Josh muttered. 

Instead of giving him some snarky response, all Donna did was give him a light kiss and made his coffee exactly how he like it. Josh all but skipped back to the table. 

* * *

The five of them ate and listened as Leo shared story after story. Donna and Josh were both surprised at how much Leo actually knew, since it seemed that he was never around for any of it. 

Helen had to find out. "Seriously, so you two… I mean, nothing until last night." 

"That's right." Josh responded as he laid his arm across Donna's shoulders. 

"Really?" Matt asked. 

"Why?" 

"Well, it's just… see, there were always rumors about Lyman and his assistant… how they were always together, how she had more responsibility than most other White House assistants, how she basically lived with him after the shooting, how he jetted out of DC after the explosion in Gaza. Everyone on the Hill just assumed…" 

Leo responded and Josh and Donna looked like deers in headlight. "Yeah, we heard them all." 

Josh was floored. "Wait, Leo, what do you mean 'you heard them all'? What rumors?" 

"Josh, really, it wasn't a big deal. Besides, when Donna said that everyone liked her better, that didn't just mean Senior Staff." 

"WHAT!?!" Leo hadn't heard Donna yell that much in all her years in the West Wing. 

"Donna, really, its fine. There are all kind of rumors around DC. It's what people talk about when there isn't anything else to talk about." 

"Leo… oh my god… you mean… Senators and aides thought…". 

"Donna, really, no one cared. It's not like there was any real proof, not that CJ and I weren't prepared, but seriously, it was nothing." 

Josh whipped his head around to look at Leo. "What do you 'prepared'? Are you saying there was some kind of contingency plan in case… in case of what?" 

"In case you decided to pull your head out of your ass!" 

"LEO!!" 

"What? You think I was going to leave this up to chance? CJ and I came up with a couple of different options after Donna decided to live with you that summer, just in case. We thought we were going to have to use one after the whole Inauguration thing…" 

Helen chimed in. "Wait! I have to know… is that snowball story… I mean, did you really do that? Did that really happen?" 

Donna just blushed and shook her head in the affirmative. Josh looked over at Donna and just smiled; remembering that night and how she looked in the window of her apartment. 

Helen couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I thought that was just another White House myth. Oh my god Josh! How sweet!! I didn't know you had that kind of thing in you. I mean, all I've ever seen is the stressed out, nervous, arrogant political mastermind and then I go and hear stories like this…" 

And before Josh had a chance to get good and embarrassed, there was a knock at the door. 'Thank God!' he thought to himself. "I'll get it!" He was out of his chair before anyone had a chance to continue the story or stop him. 

* * *

Josh opened the door to a very steamed Will Bailey. 

"Where the hell is she?" he said as he stormed into the suite. 

"Well, Bailey, it's nice to see you too. How was your evening?" 

"Shut up Lyman." Will looked over to see Donna at the table. "C'mon Donna, let's go." 

She was floored. She stood up and walked over to him. "Excuse me?" 

"I said let's go. You are making us late." 

"And who exactly is the 'us' you are referring to?" 

"Russell's staff. I don't have time for this. I'm hung over and very irritated you weren't ready to go with the rest of the staff - Elsie just happened to call and tell me that she saw you heading down here with Lyman, which is another topic for another time. You work for me and I'm telling you to move your ass!" 

Donna was ready to pounce. Leo, Helen and Matt could see that from across the room. Josh just leaned back against the arm of the chair, crossed his arms and smirk at Will. He got a very pissed off look from Will, but he just continued to smirk. Will had no idea what he was in for. 

"EXCUSE ME WILL BAILEY!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME??" 

"What are you, hearing impaired, Donna? I told you to get a move on. We need to get back to DC and you are making us late." 

"You asshole!! And, in case you forgot, my contract was with 'Russell for President' which ended when YOU managed to get your ass kicked by him!" she screeched as she pointed at Josh. 

"So, what, you gonna stay here, work for a guy who has no chance in hell of winning.." 

"Hey, I'm IN the room, you little twit!" Matt yelled from the table. 

"…and get sucked back into that sorry ass existence you had with Lyman back in the White House? I really shouldn't have expected anything else from a stupid college dropout! And to think, I wasted all that time and power on someone who was SOOO not qualified to do the work!" 

Everyone was staring at Will at this point, completely in awe of the balls he had on him to come into this room and start talking to people like that. Josh, Leo, Helen, and Matt were so wrapped up in his unjustified tirade that they never saw it coming. Apparently, neither did Will until he was flat on his ass after being punched square in the face by one Donnatella Moss. 

"You arrogant, idiotic, son of a bitch!" she yelled while shaking her right hand. "Don't blame me cause you got bent over by the next President of the United States! I've been at this for a very long time - longer than you! I know more and have done more than you will ever do in your lifetime. I've sat in budget negotiations, I saved Social Security from pissing off thousands of elderly Americans, I've briefed the President and the Chief of Staff on tons of issues while you, what, managed to get a dead man elected in California only to leave Sam, who just happens to be one of my best friends, to get his ass kicked in the run-off! If anything, I wasted MY time working on your messed up Russell campaign when I could have been working for the real deal! That fact that you thought that you could have EVER gotten that man the nomination, much less elected, shows that everyone was right about you all those years ago - you ARE delusional!!" 

Will looked up at her from the floor through his fingers. "I think you broke my nose!" 

"I'm gonna break more than that if you don't get your four-eyed prick of an ass out of here right now!" 

Will got up off the floor and made his way to the door, running into walls as he walked since he had to keep his nose elevated. He threw open the door and was in the hall without another word, but apparently, Donna wasn't done with him yet. She stood in the doorway and yelled down the hall. 

"And another thing you jackass, when we win, and believe you me, we are TOTALLY going to kick some Republican ass all across this country - don't even THINK about coming and begging for a job. You aren't worthy to work in the White House, NEVER WERE!! You aren't even good enough to be the President's personal ass wiper. Take your ass back to whatever hole you crawled out of and stay the hell away from us!" With that, she came back in the room and slammed the door. She had fire in her eyes as she turned and looked at Josh, who had a proud smirk on his face. The room was quiet until Matt broke the ice. 

"I didn't even realize the President HAD a personal ass wiper!" Helen and Leo started to giggle. "That's reason enough to run!" That sent Helen and Leo into hysterics. 

Josh and Donna didn't even hear them. They were still staring at each other. She finally sighed and spoke. "What?" 

"That was the sexiest thing I have ever seen." 

"Yeah, I think I broke my hand." 

"Yeah, well, I'm positive you broke his nose!" 

She started to giggle and he walked over to her to examine her hand. "Nasty right hook, Donnatella. I didn't know you had it in you! How did I manage to come away without one broken nose?" 

"You walk too fast." She responded as he made his way over to her. 

She hissed as he ran his fingers over the top of her hand. "He had it coming." 

"You bet your ass he did!" 

"Is it broken?" 

"Nah, but it's gonna hurt like hell for a couple of days." 

The two of them just stood there, looking at each other. Donna was still breathing hard from all the yelling and still looked like she was ready to kill someone or something. Josh pulled her into him and hugged her while running his hands up and down his back. 

"I just can't believe he had the nerve. I'm going to kill him - no wait, I bet there is at least one Secret Service agent that I can bribe to take him out…" 

"Donnatella, don't worry about him. He's gone and I do believe you properly scared the piss out of him. He definitely won't be back!" 

She giggled into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. And, there they were, Josh and Donna, just… being. 

Matt, Leo, and Helen watched this whole scene from the table. Helen sighed "It's just so sweet. Like…" 

Leo finished her thought. "Like it was meant to be. It's just a shame they had to waste all these years, all that time, but it would have been too hard from them, too much for all of us if they had tried this while working together. But I knew, we all knew." 

Helen looked over at him. "When did you know?" 

"For her - after Rosslyn. She had all these rules set up for him and the Senior staff. She took notes during his doctor appointments, basically worked from his apartment for three months. There were other things, other effects that only she was able to recognize and calm down in him. I knew then for her. For him, it took a bit longer. He's very good at denial, especially when it came to her. I had an inkling right before the MS disclosure, the night they all worked on the Correspondents' Dinner speech - something happened between them that night. The inkling turned into suspicion one night when I sent her off to meet her boyfriend for Christmas and he could barely think straight, which was all but confirmed when he ran off to Germany. He just wasted to some much time on really annoying women when he couldn't have what was right in front of him. I guess I could feel guilty for my part, for keeping them apart, but it would have been too much and that wouldn't have been far too either one of them." 

Helen smiled at Leo and tapped his hand lightly. She then cleared her throat and stood up from the table. "Donna, you want some ice for your hand?" 

She looked at the other three people in the room and started to blush. "Oh wow, I'm really sorry about all that…" 

Matt looked over at her. "No worries, Donna, no worries at all. Josh was right - he had it coming. Besides, I'm glad you are on my side. Who needs Secret Service when you've got Donna Moss in your camp!" 

Everyone started to laugh and Josh led her back over to her seat while Helen wrapped some ice in a hand towel. Leo started to clear plates away as he spoke. "Well, now that the little twit is gone after having his ass properly kicked by Donna, we need to get to work. We've got a White House to win!" 

* * *

The next few weeks were a whirlwind for the Santos campaign. They flew back to Washington that same night. They all got back to DC late and headed their separate directions - the Santos' to their rented house in Alexandria, Leo to the Watergate Hotel, and Josh and Donna to the brownstone in Georgetown. 

There hadn't been any discussion about it - it just happened. Donna went to spend the night there and just never left. After four days, they both decided they would just go get the rest of her boxes and trinkets from her old apartment. Her room had been sublet while she traveled and her old roommate was kind of weird, but so was the girl who had sublet her room - they were getting along famously and Donna decided she wouldn't be missed in the least. Needless to say, Josh was super excited - he had wanted this particular roommate for as long as he could remember. 

They spent their days at campaign headquarters, working on a message calendar, hiring people to work in Santos offices across the country, fundraising, hiring campaign staff. They worked side by side, as equals, well at least as equals to everyone else - she had always been is equal, from the day she came to Manchester all those years ago. 

They always made sure to take an hour for lunch. Sometimes they would eat in one of their offices, being stupid. Somedays they would get a hot dog from the vendor down the street and walk the Mall. One day Helen Santos joined them in the office and one day CJ insisted on buying them lunch in the mess, just to catch up. It became an event and by the time it was said and done, the President, First Lady, and Zoey, had joined Josh, Donna, CJ, Kate, Toby, Charlie, Carol, Margaret, Ginger and Annabeth for lunch in the mess. 

They spent a lot of time just walking, spending time together, something they hadn't done in a very long time. Washington summers could get hot, but they didn't mind. Walking was a good way for them to unwind after a day in the office battling with the DNC or the Congressman or contributors. They spent this time talking about anything but politics. They rehashed old stories from years ago. They made fun of the tourists and once, Josh even managed to chase down a stray balloon for a crying 4 year old they came upon one night. 

She really only had herself to blame, the night she came home with the ring. They had been walking along the main drag in Georgetown, where all the kitschy shops and independent restaurants were. They had been walking in silence while she window shopped when she stopped cold in front of a jewelry store. In the middle of the window display was a gorgeous ring - a princess cut diamond surrounded by sapphires on a platinum band. Normally Donna didn't get impressed by jewelry - she was a girl on a budget after all, but something about this ring was drawing her to it. 

"That is gorgeous. Josh, look at that ring." 

He smirked as the wheels in his head started turning. "Yeah, it's alright." 

"ALRIGHT!! Are you serious?? It is stunning. Look at that!" He laughed under his breath at how she was drooling over the ring. 

"You really like it huh?" 

"You bet! I mean, look at it. It's the perfect accessory! The blue stones totally match my eyes and would stand out against my delicate alabaster skin. It's like the ring is begging for me to wear it." 

Without saying a word, he dragged her into the store where they were greeted by the manager. 

"OK, I'll make you a deal Donnatella." 

"What's that Joshua?" 

"You really like that ring?" 

"Duh!" 

"Would you like to have it?" 

"Again with the duh!" 

He smiled at her. "Fine, I'll get it for you, but you have to agree to just one thing." 

She was just staring as the manager pulled the ring out of the display. She was really only half listening to him and he realized it. 'This was going to be fun' he thought to himself. "Yeah, sure, anything, whatever!" 

"Yeah, you can have it, but you have to marry me." 

She watched the manager put the ring in the cleaner so that she could wear it home. His head shot up and stared at Josh because of what he just said. Donna hadn't really noticed which caused the manager to laugh while he cleaned the ring. 

"Yeah, Josh, that's fine… wait! What did you just say?" 

He was leaned back against one of the display cases, arms crossed across his chest, smirk out in full force. 

"How you doing? Realize I was still here?" 

"Did you just ask me to marry you?" 

"You want the ring?" 

"Once again, with the duh!" 

"Then, yeah, that's the deal. I'll get you the ring, you agree to marry me after the election." 

A huge, toothy grin broke out on her face as she watched the store manager put the ring on a small satin cloth next to where Josh was leaning against the case. She came and stood right in front of Josh. 

"Well, it is the perfect accessory." 

"So, is that a yes?" 

Donna just shook her head in the affirmative. Without ever breaking her gaze, Josh reached down, took the ring off the top of the display case and slipped it on her left hand. While she admired how the ring looked on her finger, Josh threw his wallet on the counter. "Use the Visa." The manager just shook his head and laughed while charging the ring to Josh's card. 

The manager returned the card and wallet to Josh and just like that, they left the store, hand in hand. And just like that, Josh and Donna were engaged - very unconventional, but so very much Josh-and-Donna-like. 

They made a beeline for the townhouse and locked themselves inside. As Josh closed the door, Donna slammed him against it and assaulted his mouth with her own. Without breaking their kiss, Josh managed to maneuver them back to the bedroom where the only thing Donna wore for the rest of the night was her engagement ring. 

* * *

They were five weeks into the campaign. Josh and Donna and the rest of the staff had been working like crazy to keep the ball in their court. Matt and Leo had been sent on whirlwind trips, criss-crossing the country, making speeches and attending fundraisers. Apparently, Bruno was worried about how aggressive this campaign was cause he sent Vinnick everywhere Matt Santos had been, just a few days behind. At this early stage, it was a dead heat between the two, but Matt had picked up several points in the last few weeks, which sent Bruno and the Vinnick campaign into damage control. 

Ronna and Ned were working out front with Caroline, the new Press Secretary, putting together press packets for the fundraiser they were having that evening while Donna was in the back, dealing with Secret Service. Josh had spent the last two days in Illinois, setting up the field offices and meeting with prominent Democrats all over Chicago. Between the Bartlett's and the Santos', there were going to be a lot of agents at the event. Donna looked at her watch while she waited to be transferred to yet another office. 'I should have just asked to talk to Ron' she thought to herself. Josh's plane landed 45 minutes ago and he was due to come straight to the office when he got out of National, so he was due to arrive any time. She smiled as she thought about that. She couldn't wait to see him! 

Ronna, Ned, and Caroline had their backs to the door and didn't see her come in. When she cleared her throat, Ned turned to see the brunette standing in the doorway. 'Wow' he thought to himself, 'it's a little early for the call girls to be out, but whatever.' She just glared at him until he spoke. 

"Can I help you Ma'am?" 

"Where's J?" 

Ronna and Caroline looked up at this point and gave her the once over. 

"I'm sorry, who?" 

"J. Josh Lyman - your boss. Where is he?" 

Ned looked at Ronna, then at Caroline, who both shrugged their shoulders at him. He turned his attention back to her. 

"Well, Ma'am, he's been out of town. He is supposed to be back in time for the fundraiser tonight and he will be back in the office tomorrow, if you want to leave him a note…" 

Donna threw open the door and made her way out front. She was reading a file and hadn't noticed the visitor they had. 

"Caroline, I finally got Annabeth to email me about what Mrs. Bartlett will be wearing to the event tonight. Also, Zoey and Ellie have both decided to attend as well, so all their info is in here as well…" Donna finally looked up and noticed her. She did her best not to explode at this point. "Amy." 

"Oh great, Donna, yeah, could I get a bottle of water? It is super hot out there and I'm just parched. I'm assuming that is J's office you came out of, so I'll just go wait in there for him to come back. Thanks." 

Amy started to make her way toward where Donna had come from, but Donna blocked her way. "Excuse me Donna." 

"No." 

"What?" 

"You, don't move." Donna headed toward where the other three were. "You guys got all those copies made?" They all nodded in the affirmative. "Caroline, you are going to need this for the gaggle." 

"Donna, the press was wondering about remarks the President is going to make tonight?" 

"Yeah, Toby said he would fax those over in a minute. I'll go check for you." 

Donna turned and saw a flabbergasted Amy still standing in the spot she left her in. "Oh yeah, you are still here." 

"Really, Donna, if a bottle of water is too much to ask for…" 

Donna turned and huffed. She put her right hand on her hip and stood toe to toe with Amy Gardner. She took Amy's crap for years - Amy was now on her turf - no well in hell she was backing down! "Amy, there are plenty of bottles of water in the fridge over in the corner. They are really only supposed to be for campaign staff, but what the hell, help your self. Lord knows we don't want you collapsing from dehydration!" 

Donna blew past Amy and made her way to the back of the office where the fax machines were. Amy proceeded to follow her. 

"Really, Donna, you don't have to be rude." 

Donna just snorted. "Believe Amy, that wasn't rude. Feel free to help yourself to something that isn't yours - never stopped you before." 

Donna continued to walk and read the faxes at the same time, completely ignoring the indignant look on Amy's face. 

"You know, Donna, I'm just gonna go wait for J in his office. I'm assuming that is where you came from, working in his office like a good little secretary does when the boss is away." 

"That's it!" 

Donna whirled around with fire in her eyes. She had managed to break Will's nose, and she didn't mind him very much. Imagine what pain she could inflict on Amy Gardner. 

"Amy, listen up, cause I am going to explain this slowly, and only once. I was never Josh's secretary. I was his assistant. I assisted him on research for bills, on prepping for meetings, on budget negotiations, on Supreme Court Justices and on Vice-Presidential nominees. I sat in on base closing meetings for him, I briefed CJ for him on numerous different items that she would be asked about in her press briefings. I was never his secretary then, and I'm not his secretary now! Also, Amy, that" she said pointing the room she had exited from "is our conference room. That" she said as she pointed to the large room at the top of the stairs "is Josh's office. Actually, it is MY and Josh's office. We are working together and that is where we work from. Understand?" 

Amy just snorted. "Ok then, Donna, what is your title these days if not 'secretary'?" 

"Assistant Campaign Manager and Senior Advisor of Political Affairs to Matthew Santos." 

Amy looked like a bus had just hit her. She was stunned; eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Donna heard Caroline start to giggle at Amy's reaction. 

"What, no snotty response Amy?" 

"Well, Donna, that's nice and all, but I'm sure J just feels sorry for you, you know, with no education or anything - probably just feels like he needs to keep you around, like he's responsible for you or something. Once he gets qualified people on the campaign, I'm sure your 'duties' will be reduced. Actually, that's why I'm here. I'm sure he's going to want me to join up and help out. I'm just surprised I haven't gotten the job offer yet. I came by to make sure that he didn't lose my number." 

Donna was about to respond when a voice came from behind them. 

"Actually, Amy, I deleted your number out of my cell a long time ago." 

Donna whirled around to see Josh standing at the entrance. He dropped his bag and backpack on the empty chair and threw his sunglasses on the desk where Ned, Ronna, and Caroline were perched, watching this scene with vested interest. 

Amy sauntered past Donna and made her way to Josh. 

"Now J, that was a silly thing to do." 

"No, actually, it was probably the second smartest thing I've ever done" he responded as he smiled at Donna over Amy's head. Donna walked toward them and stood to the side with Ned, Caroline, and Ronna. 

"J, seriously, c'mon. You should have called the day after the convention. You need me here. I'm still very influential. I'm a player. I can't believe I had to come in here and get my job!" 

Josh laughed. "A player? Since when? Did your last candidate get his ass whooped because of your strategy?" 

She just brushed that off and started toying with his tie. Donna started seeing red, but Josh just gave her a reassuring look and went back to dealing with Amy. 

"Amy, look, even if I wanted you working here, I don't do the hiring." 

"Oh, should I go talk to Santos? That's not a problem; we've got a history…" 

"Actually, Matt trusts this person completely when it comes to hires. You need to talk to the Assistant Campaign Manger." Josh grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around till she was facing Donna, who was leaned back against the desk, arms crossed at her chest, with a huge 'Josh Lyman' smirk on her face. 

"How you doing?" 

Amy just laughed. "You can't be serious? Your SECRETARY hires your staff?" 

Donna stood straight up and grabbed the small card that Caroline was holding out for her. 

"For the last time, you idiot, I am not his secretary or his assistant!" Donna handed Amy the small card. The color left Amy's face as she read what was on the card 

  
**DONNA MOSS  
**  
Santos for President  
 _Assistant Campaign Manager_  
Senior Advisor - Political Affairs  
dmoss@santosforpresident.org  


Amy slowly moved her eyes from the card back up to the smirking face of Donna Moss. 

Donna slowly made her way over to Amy. "Feel free to keep that card, Amy. I've got hundreds. Well, not as many as a few weeks ago - I'm a very popular player these days. Oh, by the way, as for your supposed 'job offer' - yeah, I don't think you would mesh well with the staff I've already amassed. I'm not interested." 

Before Amy knew what was happening, Josh had spun her back around so they were face to face. 

"And just for your future reference, neither am I!" 

With that, Josh released his hold on Amy and moved toward Donna. He slung an arm over her shoulders and returned his gaze to Amy. 

Amy finally recovered. She straightened her blouse. "Your loss, J. Don't coming running to me when this fiasco implodes." 

Amy turned on her heel, threw Donna's card back on the desk next to Josh's sunglasses and made her way out the door. 

She turned to look back in at them one more time just in time to see Josh lean Donna back over his arm for a 'hello' kiss. The Santos staff had gotten very used to this over the last few weeks, but it was a first to Amy. It wasn't until she saw the glittering diamond on Donna's left hand that she finally lost her cool. 

Josh and Donna were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear the primitive scream from outside the office, but Ned, Ronna and Caroline did. They ran over to the windows just in time to see a red-faced Amy stalk down the street yelling about how 'that was supposed to be my ring, you son of a bitch!' The three of them finally broke down into hysterics. 

The laughter of the staff finally brought Josh and Donna out of their kiss. He stood Donna up as she straightened his tie. 

Arms still wrapped around Donna, he turned to the three laughing staffers. "You three gonna make it." 

Caroline piped up. "Donna, Josh, that was brilliant! Who the hell was that anyway?" 

Donna responded. "No one any of has to worry about." 

Josh finally released his hold on Donna and picked up his bags. "Alright, moving on…" and the five of them when pack to work on Santos for President and the big fundraiser that was happening that evening. 

THE END 


End file.
